A timeline of U.S. military strikes on boats off South America and what Congress has said

A timeline of U.S. military strikes on boats off South America and what Congress has said World Oct 23, 2025 12:36 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In less than two months, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say the U.S. military has killed at least 37 people in nine strikes against drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. He has asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels , relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks.

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